Straw windrower



Sept. 2, 1952 J. J. OVERMAN 2,609,080

STRAW WINDROWER Filed Dec. 5, 194a 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 JOSEPH '3'. OVERMAN Sept. 2, 1952 J. J. OVERMAN 2,609,080

STRAW WINDROWER Filed Dec. 5, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 cooooao 0ooO.oa

I l I n u l n I I I I I l I l I I l n I u n n n n u n l u Qrwe/Mom JOSEPH J. OVERMAN Patented Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATE STRAVV WINDROWER Joseph J. 0yerman, many,

Appliation December 5, 1946, Serial Nana-e12 the field by what is known as a swather, which in addition to cutting the crop also lays it in the field in swaths or windrows. Normally the crop is allowed to lie in the windrows to mature for some little time before it is threshed. Thereupon, after the grain or other crop has sufficiently matured, a combine is driven over the field, the combine acting to pickup the windrowed grain or other. crop and to thresh the same. The straw from the threshed grain is'ordinari-ly delivered by the combine back onto the field into windrows,

which are spaced apart center-to-center at a spacingsimilar. to the ori inal Spacing dfthe originalunthreshed grain windrows. Thestraw isquite valuable fer many purposes, andit is very often gathered from these strawwindrows and thereafter utilized.

It is an object of the present invention to provide anovel and imprdvd straw wi'r'idrdwer which can be mounted on a combine and can be employed for laying the discharged straw from unthreshed windrows in straw windrewsfer swaths which are spaced apart twice the width of the center-to-center spacing or original tinthreshed windrows, thereby eliminating approximately one-half of the time and iagser which would otherwise be required. in gat ering" the straw discharged from the combi by redul'cing by one-half the number of straw windro More specifically it is an ob'je'ct of the-invention to provide a cross-conveyor which can be mounted, as on a combi-ne,.to receive the straw discharged from the combine andwh h conveyor can be selectively operated to discharge. either at the right side o'f-the machine or} at the left side of. the machine, the conveyor being extensible both to the fight and t6 the 16ft 0f the machine so as to permit the straw to be ischarged into the same windrow on two succssiveswins'of the machine through the field. V V

"A further object is" to provide ant-vs and'irnproved straw windrower'whichc'an'be mounted as on a combine, which windrower" includesa crossconveyor, the upper run of which canebe selectively driven in either direction to deliver the straw'therefrom selectively to the right and left Sides of in a ate ,viiti mea ji tau: tomatically sliding the cross-conveyor laterally 1 Claim. (01. 198-410) '2 of the combine to the right immediately prior to the time that the conveyor is initially drivensc that its upper run moves to the right, and for automatically sliding the conveyor laterally to the left immediatelyprior to the time that the conveyor is initially driven so that its upper run moves to the left. g

The objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like referencecharacters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the various views and in which: H I

Fig. l is a view in rear elevation of a combine to which a straw windrowing device of the inven tion has been applied, the windrowingdevice being shown as discharging straw at the left side of ee eh N Fig- 2 is a vi w inside elevation looking toward the left sideof the machine shown in Fig -1.

} Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 as indicated by'the ar- W l .7

Fig; dis a horizontalsection taken substantially on t he line 4--4 of Fig. 1 as indicated by the arrows, V v g M l ig. 5 a vertical section taken substantially on the lin 5-5' of Fig. 4 as indicated by the ws.

Fig. 6 is atop plan view in enlarged scale showing the driving mechanism, the top ofthe gear box illustrated beingrem'oved and certain porticns of the cross-conveyor being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. .7 is avertical seams taken in sitilllarger scale substantially on the line 1- er Fig. 6'.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 8""8 of Fig 7, only portions of the gear box: being .illustrated; and I l I Big. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which a combine equipped with a straw windrowing device of the invention is employed in picking up grain from windrows, threshing the grain, and delivering the straw back on towindrows in 2; held;

Certain portions of a typical combine A- employedfor the threshing of grain in thefie ld are m t at d, The said combine includes a st aw delivering hood 9 located at the-rear of thc combine and projecting above thelevel of the ground from a rear panel ID of the machine. The combine also includes ayrotating shaft l l, which is shown as extending laterally from the" righthand side of the maehi'ne. This shaft may be the straw blower shaft or any other rdtatm'g shaft of the machine.

3 In accordance with the present invention, a pair of tracks |2 are mounted in spaced parallel relation at the rear of the combine A to extend transversely of the machine. In the illustrated embodiment the two tracks |2 are secured to horizontal portions of U-shaped strap brackets I3, which have their inner shorter legs fastened to the rear panel IU of the combine and which have longer legs attached to the rear portion of the hood 9. To strengthen and brace the brackets |3 at the rear of the machine a transverse brace l4 and diagonal braces |4a are provided. The two tracks |2 are preferably of C-formation in cross section as shown with their open sides facing toward each other, and the tracks form runways for rollers |5 journaled on short shafts I50. secured to sides It; and Ilia, of a cross-conveyor designated as an entirety by the letter B. A horizontal conveyor deck I! runs across between the conveyor sides l6 and |6a, and oppositely flaring side extensions l8 are preferably secured to the conveyor sides l6 and H511 as by brackets l9 so that the conveyor frame forms in reality a trough underlying the hood 9 to receive the straw discharged therefrom. The conveyor side It ismost closely spaced to the rear panel ll] of themachine, and it has an elongated horizontal slot cut therein through which a conveyor drive shaft 2| extends. By reason of the fact that the conveyor frame is mounted on the rollers |5 which can roll in the tracks l2 and theside l6 of the conveyor is provided with a slot 2|) through which the drive shaft 2| extends, it will be readily seen that the conveyor 13 may be slid laterally of the combine A either to'the right or to the left within the limits of the slot 20.

' Journaled in end portions of the two sides I6 and Ilia of the conveyor frame to extend across between these sides are a'pair of conveyor'shafts 23, which carry sprockets 230. over which conveyor chains 24 are trained. The said conveyor chains carry transverse slats 25 on which upstanding teeth 26 are mounted. The upper run of the slat and chain conveyor thus formed works over the deck while the under run of the conveyor is located in spaced relation below the deck and extends underneath the supporting box over which an endless belt 33 is trained, the

said belt also running over a pulley 3| carried by the rotating shaft ll of the combine. It will of course be appreciated that it is possible to drive the shaft 28 in any other suitable manner from a rotating shaft of the combine. The drive shaft 2| extends forwardly through the gear box 21 and is journaled therein, and in the illustrated form of the device there are journaled on the forwardly extending portion of the shaft 2| within the gear box a pair of beveled gears 32 and 33 respectively, which both mesh with a beveled pinion 34 mounted within thev gear box'onthe stub shaft 28. The two beveled gears 32 and 33 carry on their opposing faces half clutch members 35 and 36 respectively, which are adapted to be selectively engaged by a sliding clutch member 31 slidably mounted on a spline 38 carried by the-shaft 2|. The clutch member 31 is provided with a groove 31a, which receives a pair of opposed pins 39 mounted on a shipper fork 40, which extends upwardly through a slot 21a formed in the cover of the gear box 21. The cover of the gear box 21 may be equipped with an upstanding lug 21b which runs well upwardly above the level of the box, and the shipper fork 4|] is pivotally mounted by pivot 4| on this lug. The cover of the gear box is also preferably equipped with a shorter lug 21c adjacent the slot 21a, this lug being located at a lower level than the pivot 4|. A coil spring 42 is connected at one end to the lug 21c and is connected at its other end to an eye 43 on the shipper lever 40 well above the pivot 4|. Preferably the upper end of the lever 40 will have two cords 44 and 45 connected thereto, which may be carried forwardly to a point adjacent the driver's seat of the tractor employed for pulling the combine so that either cord may be pulled by the tractor driver to actuate the upper end of the shipper lever 40 in opposite directions as the respective cords are pulled. For this purpose the cord 44 may be run rearwardly from the upper part of the shipper lever. 40 over a sheave 46 mounted as on the rear portion of the cover of gear box 21, while the cord 45 may run directly forwardly to the tractorfrom the upper end of the shipper lever. be seen that the drive shaft 2| may be driven in either direction depending on whether the shipper lever 40 is swung to cause engagement between the clutch member 31 and the half clutch member 35 Or the half clutch member 36. The spring 42 has a dead-center action so that, when the upper end of the shipper lever 40 is swung either forwardly or rearwardly past a dead-center position, the spring 42 will maintain the clutch parts in engagement. i

Preferably the conveyor side l6 and the adjacent side extension l8 are provided with a number of transversely spaced pin-receiving openings 41. which are best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5 and which may alternately receive one or two pins 48 to limit the'efiective length of the slot 20 through the confines of which the drive shaft 2| may pass, vBy mounting these pins 48 in the proper openings 41 adjustment of the lateral extension, of the conveyor to the left and to the right of the machine canbe made to accommodate the straw windrowing device for use on combinesof differentwidths as will presently appear. g

Let us assume that the conveyor'Bis in the position illustrated inFigs. 1, 4, and 5 of the drawings and thatthe shaft rotates in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right side of Fig. 1. The'shaft 28 will accordingly be driven in a counterclockwise ,directionas viewed from its rightend Let us furtherassume that the upper end ofthe. shipper lever 40 has, been swung rearwardly by. actuation of the cord 44 so that the sliding'clutch member 31 is engaged with the half clutch member;35 andaccordingly the drive shaft 2| is rotatingv ina counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5'or from the rear of the machine. At that time. the sprocket 22, which revolves with'the drive'shaft 2|, is driving the upper run of the endless conveyor to the left and the shaft2| will be disposed in the right end portion ofthe slot 20.. Straw delivered from the hood 9 of the combine-A will be discharged onto the deck I! of the'conveyorjand the slats and teeth 25 and 26 of the upper run of the conveyor will engage theidischarged straw and carry With this arrangement it will the same to the left side of themachine to discharge the same on to the ground from the left end of the conveyor B into a windrow located laterally of the left side, of the combine. Now as the cord i5 is pulled, the shipper lever 48 will be swung so as to throw the sliding clutch member 3'! into engagementwith the half clutch member 36 while disengaging the sliding clutch member 31 from the half clutch member 35, and thereupon the drive shaft 21. will rotate in a clockwise direction. As the shaft 21 begins. to rotate. in a clockwise direction, the slat and chain conveyor will temporarily remain stationary and the sprocket 22 riding the forward chain 24. of the conveyor will slide the; entire conveyor Blaterally'to the right of the combine A.. In .other words, the conveyor being supported by the rollers l5 riding in the tracks I2 will be quite free to move to the right, offering less friction to the lateral shifting movement than the frictional resistance which would be caused by the driving of the upper run of the conveyor to the right. Accordingly the entire conveyor B will be extended toward the right side of the machine until such time as the movement to the right of the conveyor is stoppedby the drive shaft 21 coming in, contact with a stop pin 48 or until the shaft 21 .rides to. the. left end of the slot 20. Thereupon the sprocket 22 engaging the forward chain 12 iv of the conveyor will cause the upper run of the conveyor to be driven to the right and the straw discharged on to the deck ll of the conveyor will be carried by the upper run. of the conveyor to discharge from the right end of the conveyor at the right side of the combine A. Similarly, when the pull cord 44 is actuated to shift the sliding clutch member 31 in the opposite direction to bring it into engagement with the half clutch member '35, the drive shaft 2! will be rotated in counterclockwise direction, similarly causing the conveyor to be shifted to the left, and after the shifting of the conveyor to the left has been accomplished, causing the upper run of the conveyor to move to the left and discharge the straw to the left of the combine. At each time that a shift in the direction of rotation of the drive shaft 2| is made, the entire conveyor slides for a limited distance laterally of the combine, and thereafter the direction of movement of the upper run of the conveyor is changed so that the upper run thereafter moves in the direction toward which the conveyor has been shifted. The shifting of the conveyor takes place automatically therefore just immediately to the time that the direction of movement of 4,;

the upper run of the conveyor is changed.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 9 of the drawings which diagrammatically illustrates the action of a combine equipped with the straw windrowing device of the invention. There is there represented a field having four windrows C of unthreshed grain thereon, the windrows being shown in full lines and positions previously occupied by these windrows being indicated in dotted lines after the windrows have been removed from the field. There are diagrammatically illustrated on the field first, second, third, and fourth positions of a single combine A, these positions representing relative positions that the combine will occupy during successive sweep-s through the field in threshing the grain from the various windrows C. Let us assume that the combine is to make a first sweep to thresh the grain in the first windrow C at the left of the sheet and is then to make second, third, and fourth sweeps to thresh the grain in the second, third, and fourth windrows C from the left-hand side of the sheet. During the first sweep of the combine the drive shaft 2! of the conveyor B will be so actuated that the conveyor will be extended to the right sideof the machine and the upper run of the conveyor will move as indicated by the arrow to discharge the straw to the right of the machine into a windrow D. During the sec-- ond sweep of the'combine to thresh the second windrow C of grain, the conveyor B will be slid to the left of the -combine and the upper run of the conveyor will be moved to the left as indicated by the arrow to also discharge the straw on to the same windrow D. During the third sweep of the combine the conveyor will again he slid to the right, while during'the fourth sweep the conveyor will be slid to the left so that during both the third and fourth sweeps the straw will be discharged into a second windrow D. In other words, by reason of the fact that during a first sweep of a field-the straw from one windrow of unthreshed grain is discharged at the right of the combine into a straw windrow intermediate the original position of the first unthreshed grain windrow and the next succeeding unthreshed grain windrow and during the second sweep of the combinethe straw from the second windrow of I unthreshed grain is discharged at the left of the combine into the same straw windrow and during the third and fourth sweeps of the combine through the field the straw from the third and fourth windrows of unthreshed grain are deposited into a second. straw windrow midway between the positions previously occupied by the third and fourth; windrows of unthreshed grain, it will be seen that the straw from two windrows of unthreshed grain are concentrated into a single straw windrow and that the spacing between adjacent straw windrows is twice the spacing between adjacent windrows of the unthreshed grain. Thus when the straw is eventually gathered from the straw windrows D, only half as many sweeps through the field will have to be taken as would otherwise be the case if the conveyor B of the invention was not employed. Approximately half the work of gathering the straw is thus eliminated by use of the invention.

Actually in employing the slidable conveyor B of the invention, it is unnecessary to project the discharge end of the conveyor beyond the combine half the distance of the spacing between windrows of unthreshed grain. The carryover of the straw by reason of its movement laterally from the point of discharge of the conveyor to the ground will laterally throw the grain part of the necessary distance away from the side of the combine. In some instances also it may be desirable to form what amounts to a double windrow of the straw rather than to pile the straw from one sweep of the machine directly onto the straw from the second sweep of the machine. As the sliding movement of the cross-conveyor of the present invention can be readily controlled by the driver of the tractor which is drawing the combine through the field, it is very easy for the farmer to shift the lateral position of the conveyor without stopping his tractor after a single sweep of a field has been made. As has been above pointed out, the degree of extension of the conveyor laterally at the two sides of the combine can be controlled by the stop pins 48 so that for combines of different widths easy adjustment of the windrowing device can be made.

Attention is particularly called to the feature of the device whereby, as the direction of revolution of the driving shaft 2| is changed, the conveyor remains stationary until after the lateral shifting of the conveyor has been accomplished to the new side of the machine, and thus the straw is always discharged in an even straight windrow after the direction of movement of the upper run of the conveyor has been shifted.

While the present device is primarily intended for use on combines, it can also be used on other farm implements to space windrows of discharged material at a spacing equal to twice the width of the swath taken by the particular machine.

It will be seen that a highly efficient straw windrowing device has been provided whichwill save considerable time and labor.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement, and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of the present invention, which generally stated consists in the matter shown and described and set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A straw windrowing device for combines having in combination guides adapted to be transversely mounted on a combine, a conveyor frame slidably mounted on said guides for movement laterally of the combine to the right and to the left, an endless slat and chain conveyor mounted in said conveyor frame, a portion of said conveyor frame being longitudinally slotted, a drive shaft extending through the slotted portion of said conveyor frame, a sprocket carried by said shaft and engaging the upper run of one of the chains of said conveyor intermediate the ends of the conveyor, and means for selectively rotating said drive shaft and said sprocket in opposite directions to cause said conveyor frame to slide a limited distance in the direction the upper run of the conveyor is driven and thereafter to remain relatively motionless while said upper run is driven and until said sprocket is rotated in the opposite direction whereupon said conveyor frame will slide a limited distance in the opposite direction and thereupon remain motionless until the direction of said sprocket is again reversed.

JOSEPH J. OVERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent? UNITED STATES PATENTS 

